This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
When ophthalmic surgery is performed, an ophthalmic illumination system is used to illuminate the interior of a patient's eye so that the surgeon may view the surgical site. In a typical ophthalmic illumination system, light is collected, collimated and focused onto an entrance pupil of optical fiber connected to an opto-illuminator, or light probe. A tip of the probe is inserted into an incision in the eye. A number of mechanical shutter devices have been used to control the light output to a desired level at the surgical site.